authorclasses

Authorclasses are a feature used in typesetting and document processing, particularly in the TeX and LaTeX systems. They provide a way to specify the formatting of elements such as author names, affiliations, and other metadata in academic publications.

An authorclass is a specific command or code used to format the author's name, often in the form of a single command with one or more arguments. The most common authorclass is the \author command, which takes the author's name, initials, and affiliation as arguments. There are also other authorclasses, including \email, \affil, and \addr, used to format email addresses, affiliations, and addresses, respectively.

Authorclasses are used to separate the formatting of the author's name from the actual text in the document. The formatting commands are executed when the document is processed, allowing the author to add or remove commands as needed. This approach provides greater flexibility and readability, making it easier to maintain consistency in formatting across different documents.

Authorclasses are commonly used in academic journals, conference proceedings, and books, particularly in fields like mathematics, physics, and engineering, where there are specific guidelines for formatting author names and affiliations. Authors typically insert the authorclass commands within the document environment, using the provided syntax to define the formatting of each element. The use of authorclasses facilitates the creation of consistent and professional-looking publications.